Colin Kaepernick​ Is No Ali

The news has been ripe with news of Colin Kaepernick and his stand (or sit) against the National Anthem and the country it symbolizes. One of the articles that was written right after the incident was an article I read on Bleacher Report comparing Mr. Kaepernick's stance to Muhammad Ali's in the mid 60's.

I hate to burst the writer's bubble, but Colin Kaepernick is no Ali.

Let's first start with a definition that will shape the scope of this article. It comes from the American Heritage dictionary.

sacrifice

n. Forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim.

I believe it's important to focus on this definition of sacrifice because it gets to the heart of the legitimacy of Mr. Kaepernick's political stance.

But first, the comparison to Muhammad Ali. The writer in the Bleacher Report article claimed that Mr. Kaepernick's stance was similar to Ali's because he took a stance on racial issues in today's country. However, there is a major difference between the stance Mr. Kaepernick recently took and the one Ali took in the 60's.

In February of 1966, Muhammad Ali was recently re-classified from a Y-1 draftee to an A-1. An A-1 basically meant you were certain to go over to Vietnam to fight. Ali at the time refused to be drafted insisting in his words; "I ain't got nothing against no Viet Cong; no Viet Cong never called me nigger." After his protest to not be drafted, several boxing authorities revoked his boxing license. He was stripped of the heavyweight championship. He could not box from 1967-1971 until his case made it through the court system and was eventually overturned. During his exile from boxing, Ali took the opportunity to raise awareness for racial issues in America during the 60's. He spoke all over the country to different colleges about his anti-Vietnam stance. As such, Ali was a public advocate for racial issues in America at the time. For three years, Ali was not allowed to step into a ring, but instead of moping on the sidelines, Ali took the opportunity to speak his mind and effect positive change in America.

Oh, and all this occurred when Ali was the best heavyweight boxer in the world.

Now, I am not here to criticize or trample on Mr. Kaepernick's Freedom of Speech. Mr. Kaepernick has the right to be vocal about any issue he wants. That is a freedom he enjoys as an American citizen. But, I believe most of the outrage or backlash against Mr. Kaepernick has nothing to do with the message, but the way the message was conveyed.

I return to the definition of sacrifice mentioned above, "forfeiture of something highly valued for the sake of one considered to have a greater value or claim." This is where the major difference between Mr. Kaepernick and Ali exists. Ali, at the time the best heavyweight boxer in the world, sacrificed his livelihood and championship belt to take a stand against the Vietnam War. He sacrificed everything he had worked for, to take a stand for something he believed in, and when he lost everything, he took the opportunity to promote his stance for positive change in America.

As of the time of this writing, Mr. Kaepernick to my knowledge has not sacrificed anything. Did his public image take a hit? Sure. Will people stop buying his jersey? It seems like it (unless they are buying it to burn it). But as of right now, Mr. Kaepernick has not really sacrificed anything in the name of his stance.

It's been circulated enough around social media and the news that Mr. Kaepernick enjoys a healthy $19 million dollar a year salary playing for the San Francisco 49er's. Maybe there would be more sympathy for his stance if Mr. Kaepernick had come out in a press conference and stated he would be donating a portion, or maybe all, of his salary to help raise awareness about his stance. He could use his power and influence to effect positive change by helping the families of those who have lost loved ones due to violence.

Maybe Mr. Kaepernick could have stated he would be stepping down as the quarterback of the 49er's to focus instead on creating positive change.

Mr. Kaepernick could have reached out to other athletes to assist him in taking this stand by creating a coalition of athletes for change.

My point being, Mr. Kaepernick's stance is hard to take seriously when he has yet to sacrifice anything to show how serious he is about the stance. When Ali was stripped of everything he had, he did not sit idly by and take it, but instead took a stance and kept fighting. Mr. Kaepernick has yet to take a positive stance, instead, he sat (literally and figuratively) on the sidelines of the issues he purports to be passionate about.

I am not critiquing the issue that Mr. Kaepernick stands for, although it is hard to lambast a country who has given you so much, but instead, I am critiquing his actions to stand for his issues.

Mr. Kaepernick's sacrifice for his stance may be voluntary or involuntary. Ali was forced to sacrifice his championship to stand up for what he believed. The NFL or the 49er's may take repercussive actions against Mr. Kaepernick, but if he continues to stand for his issue, then that will be his sacrifice.

In summary, Mr. Kaepernick is free to take a stance on anything he chooses, but for people to take you seriously, there has to be a level of sacrifice. Sacrifice to show others that you gave up something of high value to you in the name of a higher cause.

Gandhi gave up a life of wealth and privilege to take a stand for India's independence and peace.

Dr. Martin Luther King ultimately sacrificed his life for the Civil Rights movement.

Ali sacrificed being the champion to take a stand against the Vietnam War.

Add to the list, thousands of men and women who sacrifice their lives to stand for the flag that Mr. Kaepernick refuses to salute.

Your beliefs are ultimately your own, but when you choose to take a public stance on them, it's important to prove to the onlookers that you are genuinely serious about the issue, and one way to do that is to show some sort of sacrifice.

Only then will people take a step back and say; "Wow, that's so important to him he gave up (insert sacrifice), maybe I should take a serious look at what he stands for." This will help effect positive change that you are seeking.

Until then Mr. Kaepernick, your stance (or sit) will not change hearts and minds to help your cause, but only harden them against it.

#colinkaepernik #football #nfl #freedomofspeech #muhammadali